U.S. patent number 10,636,453 [Application Number 16/354,451] was granted by the patent office on 2020-04-28 for externally-viewable hard disk indicator board and electronic device using the same.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Shenzhen Fugui Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Shenzhen Fugui Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Li-Yun Hao, Duo Qiu.
United States Patent |
10,636,453 |
Hao , et al. |
April 28, 2020 |
Externally-viewable hard disk indicator board and electronic device
using the same
Abstract
An electronic device providing visible indications as to the
status of each hard disk in an internal hard disk module includes a
housing, a display board, and hard disk controller. The display
board displays the operating status of each disk of a plurality of
hard disks. The housing defines a first mounting area and a second
mounting area. The first mounting area and the second mounting area
are spaced apart to form a slot, and the viewable display board is
slidably mounted to the slot.
Inventors: |
Hao; Li-Yun (Tianjin,
CN), Qiu; Duo (Shenzhen, CN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Shenzhen Fugui Precision Ind. Co., Ltd. |
Shenzhen |
N/A |
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
Shenzhen Fugui Precision Ind. Co.,
Ltd. (Shenzhen, CN)
|
Family
ID: |
70332404 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/354,451 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2019 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Feb 25, 2019 [CN] |
|
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2019 1 0137479 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B
33/10 (20130101); G06F 3/06 (20130101); G11B
33/022 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G11B
33/10 (20060101); G11B 33/02 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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206515814 |
|
Sep 2017 |
|
CN |
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206684651 |
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Nov 2017 |
|
CN |
|
Primary Examiner: Girma; Fekadeselassie
Attorney, Agent or Firm: ScienBiziP, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A display board electrically coupling to a hard disk controller,
the hard disk controller obtaining status information of a
plurality of hard disks and outputting status signal to the display
board, the display board comprising: a complex programmable logic
device (CPLD) electrically coupling to the hard disk controller;
wherein the complex programmable logic device obtains the status
signal from the hard disk controller, and decodes the status signal
to output control signal; a displaying module electrically coupling
to the complex programmable logic device; wherein the displaying
module receives the control signal, and outputs display information
according to the control signal; wherein the displaying module
comprises a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) units, each of
the LED units correspondingly displays the operating status of each
of the hard disks; wherein the each of the LED units comprises a
first LED and a second LED, when the operating status of the hard
disk is active status, both the first LED and the second LED are
turned off; and wherein when the operating status of the hard disk
is positioning status, the first LED is turned off, and the second
LED flashes at a frequency of 4 Hz.
2. The display board of claim 1, wherein when the operating status
of the hard disk is reconstruction status, the first LED is turned
off, and the second LED flashes at a frequency of 1 Hz.
3. The display board of claim 2, wherein when the operating status
of the hard disk is fault status, the first LED is turned off, and
the second LED is turned on.
4. A display board electrically coupling to a hard disk controller,
the hard disk controller obtaining status information of a
plurality of hard disks and outputting status signal to the display
board, the display board comprising: a complex programmable logic
device (CPLD) electrically coupling to the hard disk controller;
wherein the complex programmable logic device obtains the status
signal from the hard disk controller, and decodes the status signal
to output control signal; a displaying module electrically coupling
to the complex programmable logic device; wherein the displaying
module receives the control signal, and outputs display information
according to the control signal; wherein the complex programmable
logic device is electrically coupled to hard disk controller
through serial general purpose input output (SGPIO) bus, and the
status signal is SGPIO signal; wherein the displaying module
comprises a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) units, each of
the LED units correspondingly displays the operating status of each
of the hard disks; wherein the each of the LED units comprises a
first LED and a second LED, when the operating status of the hard
disk is active status, both the first LED and the second LED are
turned off; and wherein when the operating status of the hard disk
is positioning status, the first LED is turned off, and the second
LED flashes at a frequency of 4 Hz.
5. The display board of claim 4, wherein when the operating status
of the hard disk is reconstruction status, the first LED is turned
off, and the second LED flashes at a frequency of 1 Hz.
6. The display board of claim 5, wherein when the operating status
of the hard disk is fault status, the first LED is turned off, and
the second LED is turned on.
7. An electronic device comprising: a hard disk module comprising a
plurality of hard disks; a hard disk controller obtaining status
information of the plurality of hard disks and outputting status
signal; and a display board coupling to the hard disk controller,
comprising: a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) electrically
coupling to the hard disk controller; wherein the complex
programmable logic device obtains the status signal from the hard
disk controller, and decodes the status signal to output control
signal; a displaying module electrically coupling to the complex
programmable logic device; wherein the displaying module receives
the control signal, and outputs display information according to
the control signal; wherein the displaying module comprises a
plurality of light emitting diode (LED) units, each of the LED
units correspondingly displays the operating status of each of the
hard disks; and wherein the each of the LED units comprises a first
LED and a second LED, when the operating status of the hard disk is
active status, both the first LED and the second LED are turned
off; when the operating status of the hard disk is positioning
status, the first LED is turned off, and the second LED flashes at
a frequency of 4 Hz.
8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the electronic device
further comprises a housing, and the hard disk module is received
in a first side of the housing.
9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein a second side of the
housing defines a first mounting area, and the hard disk controller
is disposed on the first mounting area.
10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the second side of
the housing defines a second mounting area, the first mounting area
and the second mounting area are spaced apart to form a slot, and
the display board is slidably mounted to the slot.
11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein when the operating
status of the hard disk is reconstruction status, the first LED is
turned off, and the second LED flashes at a frequency of 1 Hz; when
the operating status of the hard disk is fault status, the first
LED is turned off, and the second LED is turned on.
Description
FIELD
The subject matter herein generally relates to status displays.
BACKGROUND
An electronic device can have multiple hard disks, each hard disk
backplane has a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) to receive
the serial general purpose input output (SGPIO) of the hard disk
manager. The CPLD parses the SGPIO signal to display the status of
the hard disk. Electronic devices with multiple hard drives require
multiple CPLDs, which creates a significant cost. In addition, the
status indicator on the backplane cannot be seen from the outside
of the electronic device.
Therefore there is a room for improvement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Implementations of the present disclosure will now be described, by
way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an electronic
device.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an indicator
board in the device of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic device of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of
illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been
repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or
analogous elements. Additionally, numerous specific details are set
forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by
those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described
herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other
instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been
described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant
feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale
and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better
illustrate details and features. The description is not to be
considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described
herein.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now
be presented.
The term "coupled" is defined as connected, whether directly or
indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily
limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that
the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The
term "comprising" means "including, but not necessarily limited
to"; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership
in a so-described combination, group, series, and the like.
FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device 100 in accordance with an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 100
includes a hard disk module 10, a housing 20, an externally-visible
indicator in the form of a display board (display board 30), and
hard disk controller 40.
In at least one embodiment, the electronic device 100 can be a
server.
The hard disk module 10 includes a plurality of hard disks 12. The
hard disk module 10 is received in a first side of the housing 20,
and a first mounting area 22 and a second mounting area 24 are
defined at a second side of the housing 20.
The first mounting area 22 and the second mounting area 24 are
spaced apart to form a slot 26. The hard disk controller 40 is
disposed on the first mounting area 22, and other electronic
modules are disposed on the second mounting area 24.
The display board 30 displays the respective statuses of the
plurality of hard disks 12. The display board 30 is slidably
mounted to the slot 26. Therefore, the display board 30 can
protrude from or be received in the housing 20 in the direction of
the slot 26.
When the display board 30 is pulled out from the housing 20, the
operating statuses of the plurality of hard disks 12 can be viewed
through the display board 30.
In at least one embodiment, the status of the hard disks 12 may
include active status, positioning status, reconstruction status,
and fault status.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate that the display board 30 includes a
complex programmable logic device (CPLD 32) and a displaying module
34.
The hard disk controller 40 is electrically coupled to the hard
disk module 10. The hard disk controller 40 obtains information of
the hard disks 12, and outputs signals accordingly to the display
board 30.
In at least one embodiment, the hard disk controller 40 can be a
platform controller hub (PCH).
The CPLD 32 is electrically coupled to the hard disk controller 40.
The CPLD 32 communicates with the hard disk controller 40, and
receives signals from the hard disk controller 40. The CPLD 32
decodes the signals and outputs control signals to the displaying
module 34 accordingly.
In at least one exemplary embodiment, the CPLD 32 communicates with
the hard disk controller 40 through serial general purpose input
output (SGPIO) bus, the status signal is an SGPIO signal.
The displaying module 34 communicates with the CPLD 32, and
receives the control signal from the CPLD 32. The displaying module
34 outputs display information accordingly.
In at least one embodiment, the displaying module 34 includes a
plurality of light emitting diode (LED) units 342, each of the LED
units 342 includes a first LED 342a and a second LED 342b. Each of
the LED units 342 corresponds to one of the hard disks 12.
For example, if the operating status of the hard disk 12 is active,
both the first LED 342a and the second LED 342 are turned off.
If the operating status of the hard disk 12 is positioning, the
first LED 342a is turned off, and the second LED 342b flashes at a
frequency of 4 Hz.
If the operating status of the hard disk 12 is reconstruction, the
first LED 342a is turned off, and the second LED 342b flashes at a
frequency of 1 Hz.
If the operating status of the hard disk 12 is fault, the first LED
342a is turned off, and the second LED 342b is continually on.
When it is necessary to view the operating status of these hard
disks 12, user pulls the display board 30 out from the slot 26.
When it is not necessary to view the operating status of these hard
disks 12, user can insert the display board 30 into the housing
20.
Therefore, the operating status of the hard disks 12 in the
electronic device 100 can be conveniently viewed.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present
technology have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the present
disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be
made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present
disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the
broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will
therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may
be modified within the scope of the claims.
* * * * *